The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, has accused Russia of "indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force" and endangering the lives of innocent people in the course of its armed campaign in Chechnya.
Russia was, she said, blocking medical supplies to Chechen hospitals and preventing men from escaping bombardments on towns on villages.
In a strongly-worded statement issued in Geneva yesterday, Mrs Robinson outlined what she viewed as the major infringements of human rights by Russia in the autonomous region and called for specific action to save innocent lives.
Violations of human rights had been reported by independent sources and were causing serious suffering and high casualties, Mrs Robinson said, and she outlined the "high civilian loss of life and injuries" as Russia's main offence.
Vulnerable people, including children, the sick and the elderly were unable to escape the bombing and sufficient provision for their transport to safety was not being provided by the authorities, she said.
There was a strong objection in Mrs Robinson's statement to Russia's refusal to allow monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to enter Russian-controlled territory in the northern part of Chechnya.
Mrs Robinson also claimed that medical supplies for hospitals in Chechnya were being blocked by Russia and strongly criticised arrangements being made to accommodate almost 200,000 refugees in the neighbouring region of Ingushetia. Up to 80 per cent of refugee children were suffering from anaemia and malnutrition, she said.
Russia was accused particularly of restricting men from escaping the daily bombardments from artillery and aircraft strikes in Grozny and other large towns and of allowed civilians to be trapped in the town of Ochkoy Martan while bombardments continued.
"I call on the Russian government to ensure that the human rights of civilians are protected and, in particular, that: The devastating impact of military operations on the civilian population be stopped; humanitarian corridors are open for civilians to escape the fighting safely; safe transportation is provided for those not able to leave by their own means.
Up to now Russia has countered western criticism of its bombing campaign in Chechnya by describing it as hypocrisy coming from countries which bombed "sovereign Yugoslavia". The President, Mr Yeltsin and the Prime Minister, Mr Vladimir Putin, are expected to face further severe censure at the OSCE's summit in Istanbul tomorrow
Their argument has been that Chechnya is an internal matter for Russia and whatever action it takes there is its own business. In recent days a note of paranoia has entered Russian statements. The Foreign minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, yesterday suggested in an article in the Financial Times that an "anti-Russian" campaign had been launched in order to force Russia out of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Criticism from the United Nations, which Russia sees as a more legitimate international organisation than NATO, and continuing censure from non-NATO states have been largely ignored in Russia.
Russian bombardments centred on towns and villages south of Grozny yesterday and western news agencies with journalists in the region reported yesterday that refugees spoke of further civilian deaths.
